I have never ever needed more than 2 or 3 of same boards yet. This is
not a business, but a hobby.
So producing a single pcb costs probably few $, and gets you further
in an hour, instead of waiting for weeks. Any reasonably priced
shipping takes usually about 3 weeks from china/hk to here.
So basically it depends on many factors.

>
> Note that the minimum price for a professionally manufactured PCB has gon=
e down to about $20. =A0(That gets you 10, identical 50mm square boards fro=
m China (Seeed or iTead Studios), or 3 boards of about that size from Dorkb=
otPBX or similar services in the US ($5/in^2) =A0That includes postage. =A0=
Gratification isn't so instant as etching your own, but ... at prices like =
that it's difficult to justify messing around at home. =A0And you get two s=
ides, Plated-through holes, soldermask and silkscreen, and routed to shape.
>
> For large, simple, PCBs, home etching may still make sense. =A0As board s=
ize goes up, your options dwindle, per-in^2 deals get expensive, and you do=
n't get any cost savings for simplicity.
>
> BillW


--=20
KPL

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